After our long trip, we spent our first week at our AirBnB in the Woodlands working through our jetlag and getting our fridge and pantry stocked. HEB curbside for the win! Stay at home orders for the county went into effect and I only shopped a handful of times for necessities at essential stores that remained open, and Amazon was a lifesaver. We were really pleased with our little house on Sandpebble and it quickly became a happy home.
We rearranged the living room and created an awesome couch bed. Many an hour was spent here watching the Goldbergs together.
We were also so thankful that the grandparents were just 20 minutes in either direction. On one grocery run at Target I was able to pick up the quarantining expat starter kit - folding chairs for the trunk.
We loved being able to make socially distant visits to the grandparents! Sad to not share hugs but so happy to spend an hour together outdoors.
We even got to celebrate Grandma's birthday with her!
The Mitchell Nature Reserve was nearby and it was terrific for a longer hike in nature once or twice a week. On Fridays and the weekends it was packed, so we would avoid it.
Puzzles were for sure a quarantine must. They were completely sold out in most stores but we were able to borrow several from Grammy.
I bought a little vacuum for quick, daily cleans and Ben became obsessed. I couldn't have been prouder!
Once I was able to locate clippers and scissors, these guys got awesome, free haircuts from Mom.
Not the best, but better than nothing.
I think they'd grown a little furry!
Ben learned how to restring his guitar by himself after one of his strings broke.
Alex spent hours assembling a marble race kit.
The boys had a 2-person Easter egg hunt in the backyard. 50 eggs went a long way between just two kids!
The golden eggs were tricky but worth it - each one was redeemable for a slice of cookie cake (thankfully considered an essential business!)
Easter morning looked a little different than usual, but we can celebrate from the couch in our PJs just as easily as in the sanctuary in our Sunday best! Even better, Matt was able to catch the same service at 7pm in Jakarta so we were together/apart watching church.
It's been so great having the spring weather to get us outdoors and enjoy some fresh air at least once a day. And thank goodness we brought those ripsticks!
Ben heard about a new budget iPhone being released and researched it for weeks. He set his alarm to order it the minute it went on sale and is anxiously awaiting its arrival as I write this. It's the only thing he wants for his upcoming birthday.
All too soon, our 4 weeks in the house were ending and it was time to make a move. We enjoyed our last rainy afternoon there playing games and laughing together.
Besides the fact that moving is a hassle, we were all sad to leave. Our little house was a safe haven amidst a world full of uncertainty and our time there was sweet. But other renters were arriving and we had to move on to our next house with an open timeline. Who knows what the world will be like in the next 4 weeks?
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